8.2 usable nights
6–11 in the middle half of years · 2.8 typically near a dark moon.
344 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Bentonville
September: 13.3 usable nights on average. Use this seasonal climate baseline to choose a month, then use the live forecast to choose a night.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Bright skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.19.5–20.2 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
September has been strongest.
It averages 13.3 usable nights, versus 6.0 in February. A typical September lands between 12 and 15 usable nights.
Record2005–2024 · 20 complete years
Usable nightAt least 3 astronomical-dark hours and NASA POWER nighttime cloud ≤30%
Dark-moon nightUsable night with ≤25% illumination at local solar midnight
ResolutionCERES SYN1deg 1° cloud grid; regional climate, not a campsite guarantee
Seasonal fingerprint
Usable nights by month
Month by month
6.0 usable nights
4–8 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
289 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.9 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
283 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.2 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.4 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.3 usable nights
6–9 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
192 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.7 usable nights
9–13 in the middle half of years · 3.2 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.4 usable nights
9–14 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
186 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.0 usable nights
9–16 in the middle half of years · 4.4 typically near a dark moon.
233 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.3 usable nights
12–15 in the middle half of years · 5.1 typically near a dark moon.
252 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.8 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.3 usable nights
9–12 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
328 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.7 usable nights
5–10 in the middle half of years · 2.2 typically near a dark moon.
361 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
Use the baseline honestly
Climate chooses the month. Forecasts choose the night.
The cloud product is a roughly 1° regional grid. It can reveal seasonality, but it cannot know a mountain ridge, valley fog pocket, locked gate, smoke event or the exact sky you will get.
Source: NASA POWER daily data, parameter CLOUD_AMT_NIGHT from the CERES SYN1deg cloud product. GoodSeeing calculates astronomical darkness and lunar illumination independently for each place.